City officials and project partners discussed plans to improve the lower Broadway/Austin Highway corridor in Alamo Heights. The corridor was divided into four zones, each with challenges such as large parking lots interrupting sidewalks. Proposals included adding 129 trees to provide shade and landscaping, widening sidewalks, and reducing on-street parking. Officials discussed establishing a Public Improvement District or dedicating funds to maintain new landscaping. Creative landscaping ideas were suggested to enhance the area. Next steps include finalizing design details and material costs for the improvement project.

1. DRAFT
CITY OF ALAMO HEIGHTS
CITY COUNCIL
October 28, 2021
A workshop of the City Council of the City of Alamo Heights, Texas was held
virtually at the Council Chamber, located at 6116 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas, at 8:30
a.m. on Thursday, October 28, 2021.
Composing a quorum were:
Mayor Bobby Rosenthal
Mayor Pro Tempore Lynda Billa Burke
Councilmember Lawson Jessee
Councilmember Wes Sharples
Councilmember Blake M. Bonner
Councilmember John Savage
Also attending were:
City Manager Buddy Kuhn
Assistant City Manager Phil Laney
Community Development Services Director Lety Hernandez
Assistant to City Manager Jennifer Reyna
City Secretary Elsa T. Robles
Director of Finance Robert Galindo
Fire Chief Michael Gdovin – Via Zoom
Deputy Police Chief Cindy Pruitt – Via Zoom
Public Works Director Pat Sullivan
* * *
City Manager Buddy Kuhn opened the meeting at 8:32 a.m.
* * *
Item #1 City Council work session for the lower Broadway/Austin Highway
Improvement Project
City Manager Buddy Kuhn stated today’s workshop was to update Council on the
lower Broadway/Austin Highway Improvement Project. Ms. Samantha Schwartz from
Overland Partners, Mr. Jeremy Doege and Dave Millikan from WGI Engineering were
also present.
Mr. Kuhn informed Council on project initiatives staff and project partners
Overland Partners and WGI Engineering continue to work on.
Overland Partners Architect Samantha Schwarze dived into the existing
conditions of the corridor looking at cross streets, key intersections, on-street parking,
and green space. She identified four (4) key zones within the corridor: Zone 1 –

2. October 28, 2021 Workshop
2
University/South Gateway, Zone 2 – Small Scale Retain, Zone 3 – Commercial Zone,
and Zone 4 – North Gateway. Ms. Schwarze stated each zone had its own challenges and
opportunities. The group discussed each zone in detail and identified some hardships,
such as, large parking lots adjacent to street with multiple curb cuts which interrupt
sidewalk flow. The corridor lacks points of interest and narrow medians limit space for
greenspace and trees. The historic trolley stop is constrained due to multiple modes of
mobility.
Ms. Schwarze proposed the addition of 129 trees down the median to increase
shade, create a sense of place, and provide space for low impact design landscaping
(LID) or ornamental/native landscaping. The sidewalks were suggested to be wider to
improve accessibility for pedestrians and multi-modal mobility. The reduction of on-
street parking could be explored.
Councilmember Blake Bonner stated he understood the need for additional trees
and landscaping, but asked how it was going to be maintained. Mr. Kuhn stated options
were being discussed from having more hardy plants to establishing a Public
Improvement District (PID) for future maintenance of the corridor.
Mayor Pro Tem Lynda Billa Burke suggested setting up a budget fund
specifically dedicated for the purpose of maintaining the corridor.
Councilmember Lawson Jessee reiterated the PID funds would only go toward
Broadway’s maintenance. He advised the PID should be initiated before the end of the
year by business owners petitioning the city. Councilmember Wes Sharples asked if there
was a plan “b” should the PID fail to happen. Councilmember Jessee stated currently
there is no plan “b”; however, noted, the City would be responsible for maintenance.
Ms. Schwarze stated other challenges involved street parking. A decision will
need to be made regarding how much is actually needed and used. Mayor Rosenthal
suggested thinking about accommodations for the future, such as, more electric cars on
the road and mobility services such as Uber. Mr. Kuhn urged Council to communicate
their needs and wants for this project to succeed.
Councilmember Jessee asked Overland Partners to be creative with the
landscaping. He suggested softer looking plants in the median as opposed to native
plants. The addition of sprinklers was also recommended.
Other key factors explored were the addition of a gateway into the City, lighting
and signage, left lane reduction, ADA compliant sidewalk widths, bike lanes, and
establishing a plan identifying the amount and cost of material(s) to be used for the
project.
In closing, Mr. Kuhn asked the group to send additional ideas to him regarding
items discussed and noted the group would meet again soon.
* * *

3. October 28, 2021 Workshop
3
Closed Session
The City Council of the City of Alamo Heights convened into Executive Session at
10:37 a.m. and reconvened in Open Session at 11:01 a.m. in accordance with the Texas
Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Section §551.071 (Consultation with
Attorney), §551.087 (Deliberation Regarding Economic Development Negotiations)
No action was taken.
* * *
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:02 a.m.
__________________________
Bobby Rosenthal
Mayor
____________________________
Elsa T. Robles, TRMC
City Secretary